Amazing!

By Stanley Greenfield, RHU

It never ceases to amaze me how people allow themselves to fall into a rut and are content to just stay there. I've been writing these articles for over eight years, and I get hundreds of letters every month asking for additional information and asking for help.

I answer each and every request as best I can. Many times, I will get a request without a self-addressed stamped envelope, and I still send the materials requested. Very often, I will just pick up the phone on my nickel and call to deliver the information directly to the person.

This is not what amazes me. I enjoy getting letters and calls from all over the country. What amazes me is that after I give them the information, many stay right in the same rut they were in before they wrote or called me. Amazing!

We are living in strange times: times when it is necessary to remain flexible and be proactive with all of your financial matters. You must keep an open mind and be willing to explore new concepts that might possibly improve your financial situation. No one can afford to just sit back and allow things to just float along.

What I see is a lot of "floaters," who if they aren't careful, may end up sinking -- sinking in a sea of red ink! This is not a time when you can just sit back and let the world pass you by, because it surely will.

You, as a professional, need to be concerned about two things: people at work and money at work. I am sure you work very hard to keep your office and your employees working at their best. You have probably spend many hours making sure that your office is as efficient as it can get. (By the way, if you haven't, maybe it's time that you did!) You expect the best from your people, and you won't accept less.

Now we come to the second part of this equation, money at work. You paid very close attention to the first part, people at work. How about the second part? Are you really on top of this? Be honest now. Do you really demand the same from your money that you demand from yourself and your employees?

Like I said earlier -- amazing! You spend all of this time going to school. Then, you put that knowledge to work, build a successful practice and get systems and employees in place to run an efficient operation. You are proud of your accomplishments, and financially things are looking bright. Then you turn around and let your dollars just lay around like some old dog! Amazing.

Does this sound familiar? Maybe you can't totally relate to this picture. Maybe you are saying that you have advisors that you turn all of this over to, so they handle all of these matters for you. Is that your story? If that is your story, when was the last time you evaluated their performance? If you based it on last year's return, you need to take another look. Anyone can look good based on what money did last year.

First of all, do you have a plan or goals? Have you communicated these goals or wishes to your advisors? Are they following "your lead"; are they just doing what "they" feel is best for you; or are they maybe doing what's best for them and their pocketbooks? Can you answer that question? If you hesitate, then the answer is that it's time to make your goals and wishes known to them, or replace them with advisors who will listen. Do your advisors listen? Better yet, are you listening to what I am trying to tell you?

Let's go back to the beginning. You need to be very involved in two areas: people at work and money at work. It's time to take a good long look at both, and if changes are warranted, do it. Think about this for a moment. If you had an employee working your practice and they were not doing their job, what would you do? Would you just sit back and just ignore the problem? I doubt that. If you have built a successful practice, I am sure you would not allow one employee to spoil everything.

Now let's look at the money at work again. Will you allow your money that you have worked long and hard for to just do nothing? I hope that you won't. How about your advisors? Will you allow them to just do whatever they want to do, with no regard for your plans? I won't even ask what has been going on up until the time you started reading this article. I hope that this article has been an eye-opener and a time for you to truly take control of your money and do as good a job as you have with yourself and your employees. I hope the next time I use the word amazing, it will be to describe the job that you are now doing with your financial matters.

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